Line of Duty

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Line of Duty
Genre Crime
Drama
Thriller
Written by Jed Mercurio
Directed by David Caffrey
Douglas Mackinnon
Starring Lennie James
Martin Compston
Vicky McClure
Gina McKee
Adrian Dunbar
Neil Morrissey
Composer(s) Carly Paradis
Country of origin United Kingdom
Original language(s) English
No. of series 1
No. of episodes 5
Production
Executive producer(s) Stephen Wright (BBC)
Simon Heath
Producer(s) Jed Mercurio
Location(s) Birmingham
Cinematography Ruairi O'Brien
Running time 55-60 minutes
Production company(s) World Productions
Distributor Content Media
Broadcast
Original channel BBC Two
Audio format Dolby Digital
Original run 26 June 2012 (2012-06-26) – present
External links
BBC website

Line of Duty is a British police drama, created by Jed Mercurio, which first aired on BBC Two 26 June 2012. It was BBC2's best-performing drama series in 10 years, with a consolidated audience of 4.1 million viewers.[1] The series has been recommissioned for a second series that will first broadcast on 12 February 2014.[2]

In August 2012, the show began airing on Hulu in the United States as an exclusive series,[3] while Netflix offers the series on an exclusive basis in Denmark and Sweden.[4]

Synopsis

Detective Sergeant Steve Arnott (Compston) is leader of a counter-terrorism unit that accidentally kills an unarmed man. Refusing to participate in a cover-up, and therefore ostracised by colleagues, Arnott transfers to an anti-corruption unit, AC-12, led by Northern Ireland veteran[5] Superintendent Ted Hastings (Dunbar).[6]

AC-12 is in the process of investigating Detective Chief Inspector Tony Gates (James), who has just been awarded his regional force's Officer of the Year commendation, as a result of his squad, TO-20, returning the best crime figures for three consecutive years. While Hastings is convinced that no one can be that good, Arnott initially questions the whole enterprise.[6]

Gates' squad is nicknamed "the big, sexy crime unit", and includes Detective Sergeant Matt 'Dot' Cottan (Parkinson), Detective Constable Nigel Morton (Morrissey) and Detective Constable Deepak Kapoor (Ayub). Under pressure to have a more gender-balanced team, Gates agrees to give Detective Constable Kate Fleming (McClure) a trial on TO-20.[6]

When Arnott delves into Gates' case files, Gates is confident of seeing off the investigation. In another issue, Gates discovers that his mistress, Jackie Laverty (McKee), involved in a minor traffic offence, is actually involved in something that may be altogether more serious, and Gates becomes increasingly complicit in a cover-up.[6]

Cast

Production

The police refused to cooperate with the producers of the programme. Consequently, the production team were advised both by retired police officers, and anonymously by serving officers; they also made use of anonymous police blogs.[7]

Awards

Line of Duty has been nominated in the Best TV Drama category (or equivalent) at the Royal Television Society Awards,[8] the Crime Writers' Association Crime Thriller Awards 2012,[9] the Broadcast Awards 2013,[10] the South Bank Sky Arts Awards 2013[11] and the Broadcasting Press Guild Awards 2013.[12] The first series won the Royal Television Society Midlands Centre Award for Best Drama.[13]

Censure by Ofcom

Following the complaint of one viewer, the media regulator Ofcom found the BBC guilty of a "serious lapse" in its duty of care for a 13-year-old actor, Gregory Piper, who had appeared in scenes which were "of a particularly violent nature and included sexually explicit language" by breaching broadcasting rules requiring that "due care must be taken over the physical and emotional welfare and the dignity of people under 18".[14] In its full report, Ofcom cited the programme's failure to involve an independent expert, such as a child psychiatrist, to determine the actor's intellectual and emotional capacity to participate in the controversial scenes; however, the regulator found that there was no actual harm, distress or anxiety caused to the child actor.[15]

Series Two

A second series was confirmed on 26 July 2012. Line of Duty 2 and will air on BBC2 12 February 2014.[13] Keeley Hawes and Jessica Raine join original cast Martin Compston, Vicky McClure and Adrian Dunbar for a six-part serial opening with the ambush of a police convoy in which the sole surviving officer is Detective Inspector Lindsay Denton (Hawes).[16]

Robert Lindsay was originally cast in a lead role for series two but left part way through production due to "creative differences", he was replaced by Mark Bonnar.[17]

Releases

The DVD for series one was released in mid-2013.[18]

References

  1. ↑ http://www.broadcastnow.co.uk/in-depth/the-broadcast-interview/jed-mercurio-taking-aim-at-target-culture/5046826.article
  2. ↑ Sperling, Daniel (July 25, 2012). "'Line of Duty' renewed for second series by BBC". DigitalSpy. Retrieved July 26, 2012. 
  3. ↑ Thomas, June (2012-08-24), "The Global Network", Slate, retrieved 2013-01-28 
  4. ↑ "Watch Line of Duty on Netflix", Dom's Guide, February 18, 2013, retrieved February 19, 2013 
  5. ↑ Sarah Hughes (26 June 2012). "Line of Duty: series one, episode one". The Guardian. Retrieved 1 July 2012. 
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 "Line of Duty". BBC. Retrieved 26 June 2012. 
  7. ↑ Jed Mercurio (26 June 2012). "Line of Duty – a police drama that swaps reassurance for reality". The Guardian. Retrieved 26 June 2012. 
  8. ↑ Dowell, Ben.BBC leads the way in Royal Television Society awards nominations, The Guardian, March 1, 2013. Accessed April 27, 2013.
  9. ↑ Williams, Charlotte. CWA reveals shortlists for 2012 Crime Thriller Awards, The Bookseller, August 24, 2012. Accessed April 27, 2013.
  10. ↑ http://www.broadcastawards.co.uk/shortlist
  11. ↑ http://skyarts.sky.com/south-bank-sky-arts-awards/2013-nominees-image-gallery
  12. ↑ Douglas, Torin. Parade’s End leads TV nominations for 39th Broadcasting Press Guild Awards, Broadcasting Press Guild, February 7, 2013. Accessed April 27, 2013.
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 http://www.world-productions.com/latest-news.asp
  14. ↑ BBC censured over violent Line of Duty scene featuring child actor, The Guardian, 17 December 2012. Accessed April 27, 2013.
  15. ↑ http://stakeholders.ofcom.org.uk/binaries/enforcement/broadcast-bulletins/obb220/obb220.pdf
  16. ↑ "Line up for more Duty". The Sun. 9 October 2013. 
  17. ↑ Munn, Patrick (May 13, 2013). "EXCLUSIVE: Robert Lindsay Exits BBC Two’s ‘Line Of Duty’, Mark Bonnar To Assume Role". TVWise. Retrieved May 14, 2013. 
  18. ↑ Line of Duty DVD release

External links

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